THE BLUE DEVILS
“Devil’s Pride”
Boo st er C lub
Octob er 2006
October is a difficult month for putting out a newsletter. There is a lot of activity going on and
people are extremely busy. However, at this point in time, there is really nothing that is
available for publication or has been finalized. Therefore, October is a potpourri in writing.
In addition to the sites published last month for auditions, there will be an additional audition
held at Riverside Community College in Riverside, CA on Saturday, December 9 (10-5).
Many of our former and current members of the Corps like to attend the auditions just to see
what is going on. We have a lot of members who are from the Riverside area, so if you know
someone, let them know this will be held.
Dave Gibbs spoke at the last Booster meeting and went over a good portion of all the activities
that are being planned for our 50th anniversary year (2007). A large celebration is scheduled
for August 2 and 3. The Regional Competition scheduled for August 4 will be held at the new
state-of-the-art Stanford Stadium in California. This event will be put on jointly by the Blue
Devils and the Santa Clara Vanguard rather than DCI. Scheduled for the show at this time:
Blue Devils, Santa Clara Vanguard, Blue Knights, Cadets, Crossmen, Glassmen and
Bluecoats. We are disappointed Phantom Regiment, Cavaliers, etc. will be participating in
another Regional Competition held elsewhere and will not be at this show. We have also been
informed that the Santa Clara Vanguard will not be hosting “Pacific Procession” this.
If you are planning to be in attendance, the Blue Devils have access to approximately 300 $75
tickets and 100 $25 tickets for DCI Finals. There will also be 60 Super 3 seats available for
DCI Finals Week (same seat for all three shows). Anyone wishing tickets should contact the
Blue Devils as soon as possible. Right now we are not sure if our “C” Corps will be planning to
make the trip to Pasadena; we sure hope so.
Just in case you did not receive a copy of the notice regarding activities being planned for next
year, we have included a copy for your information. Looking at the schedule, it is most
definitely obvious that the Association will be in great need of help in getting everything done.
Please get in touch with the Blue Devil Hall if you can find the time to help out in any capacity.
Lots of additional information on the Blue Devil web site. This is going to be a year to
remember – Don’t let it pass you by. First time in California! Next 10 years – Indianapolis, IN.
Dave also mentioned there are plans in the air to open a couple new Bingo Arcades in the
area. We haven’t had the opportunity to visit one of the arcades in quite a while, but we
certainly had fun when we did. BDEntertainment has gotten extremely popular and requests
are mounting for performers at various functions. If you ever need something for a conference,
seminar, or anything, make sure you get in touch with either Dave Gibbs or Michael Turner at
bdentertain.com. You won’t be sorry.
To Close out 2007 - We are working on the banquet to be held at the Walnut Creek Marriott
Hotel in Walnut Creek, CA. If you are in the area and are interested in attending, please
contact Sonja Williams at (925) 934-9500 (days), (925) 458-2965 (evenings) or at
williamssonjab@hotmail.com (be sure to indicate Blue Devils in the subject line). The cost is
$35 each. Reservations need to be in by November 17 at the latest.
DEVIL’S PRIDE - OCTOBER 2006
Page 2
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN: Our Booster Club election of officers will be held at the
January 2007 meeting. If anyone is interested in one of the offices, please get in touch with a
member of the Nominating Committee (a message can be left at the Blue Devil Hall or by
attending a meeting). Our Committee: K. C. Collmer, Yvonne Moss, Maryanne Lynn.
Also (you knew it was coming), it’s time to starting thinking about renewing your membership
with the Blue Devil Booster Club. Our Membership Chairman, Katie Wills, will be sending out
reminders in the near future. We cannot stress strongly enough how much we value your
membership and support. Just because you may not be in this area and are not able to attend
the meetings, your input is always welcome and your support is vital to our cause. Many
people think that because their child has “aged out” they should do the same. Not so. We
have members in our group who have been very active since the mid 1970’s!! We also have
members who have never had a child in the Blue Devils but are fans of the Corps, and some
are as far away as Canada and England. Membership dues are still $20 per family.
HERE AND THERE:
Academy has formed a Cardinal Drum Line that will be performing at all their local football
games. This group is much like our BDEntertainment “Niner Noise” group that performs at all
the San Francisco 49er home football games and is so popular with the crowds.
Ever think you have a fantastic idea for a drum corps show? From the Cadets’ Web site: “In
an interesting break from the norm of fall meetings with drum corps Program Coordinators and
staff members to hash out a plan for a corps’ 2007 show concept and design, the Cadets have
started a contest open to the general public to find the best idea for the corps’ 2007 program
… The winner will receive $500 and the opportunity to see his/her idea come to fruition on the
football field.” Get those creative minds working and contact George Hopkins.
East Coast Jazz announced the Malden, MA group will not field a corps in 2007 due to
experiencing struggling bingo revenue in recent years. This corps was founded in 1992 and
has been a perennial DCI Division II & III finalist, winning the World Championship titles in
1998 and 2005. We wish them the best of luck in working out their financial difficulties and
hope they will be back soon. The activity has lost way too many great corps due to financial
problems in the past years and it literally hurts to think of all the young people who will not be
able to participate with a corps because of financial, location or other reasons.
The Cavaliers have plans to travel to Europe next year.
Don’t know if the position has been filled or not, but the Blue Knights from Denver, CO were
looking for someone with good computer knowledge to help them setting up their web site, etc.
If you (or someone you know) are in the area, have the time and are a computer whiz, the Blue
Knights would love to hear from you.
Crossmen to San Antonio, TX. Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!) announced they will be
fielding the Crossmen through a new management team that will be located in San Antonio,
TX beginning with the 2007 season. The new Director of the Corps will be Mark Chambers
who will be in charge of all educational and programming functions. YEA! will execute the
back office operations. If you are interested, a search is on for an experienced tour manager
to assist in carrying the summer load.
DEVIL’S PRIDE – OCTOBER
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The Santa Clara Vanguard has announced three unique and entirely different show concepts
that will encompass 2007, 2008 and 2009. The 2007 show will be “’!’ Music by Ravel and
Respighi.” In 2008 the show title is “3hree” and that will be followed by “Clue” in 2009. We
think some staff members have really been hard at work and look forward to three more great
shows from our talented neighbors.
We made mention last month about the joint “Fleet Day” the Blue Devils shared with Santa
Clara in getting our vehicles cleaned. If you go into the SCV web site, there is article written by
General Manager Dan Vannatta that gives a bit more insight and pictures showing how we
spent our day. We certainly do hope this can turn into an annual event.
We were planning to make mention of a few of the staff changes in some of the various corps.
However, in checking out the different sites, we realized we didn’t have enough time or enough
space to mention all of them – WOW! A couple we did decide on just happened to involve
former Blue Devil members, however. Former member Key Poulan has been very active with
SCV in past years and has now taken a position with the New York Skyliners. Former member
Glen Crosby has now taken on the role of the Percussion Caption Head for the fabulous
Academy from Arizona. Yes, we are personally in awe of this corps and we are proud to point
out that there have been other former BD members on the staff giving what must be some
great input.
We wish Key and Glen the best in their new ventures. We love seeing our
former members listed on the various drum corps staffs. These are some very talented people
and it is great knowing their talent is being passed on to another generation. At this time, we
have not been informed of any staff changes within the Blue Devils – and we certainly hope it
stays that way.
PLEASE NOTE: Our December meeting will be our annual Christmas Potluck/Meeting and
voluntary gift exchange. All members are welcomed and encouraged to attend. For anyone
wishing to participate in the voluntary gift exchange, the dollar limit has been set at $15. The
location will be announced in the November newsletter. Be thinking about this. Good food –
Good company – Short meeting – Loads of fun. Who could ask for anything more?
Our next Booster Club Meeting
TUESDAY – November 7, 2006
I-HOP Restaurant – Martinez, CA
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
2006 Booster Club Officers
President
Mary Cloyd
Vice President
Yvonne Moss
Secretary/Treasurer
Sonja Williams
Membership
Katie Wills
Sunshine
Norma Merrill/Penny Ross
www.bluedevils.org-programs-a-boosters
Blue Devil Hall
4065 Nelson Avenue
Concord, CA 94520
(925) 689-2918
(925) 689-0384 (fax)
www.bluedevils.org